


Last Day in the Quarry

by Melethril



Series: The Walking Dead - AU [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternative Season 1/2, Daryl Dixon Being Daryl Dixon, Gen, Jacqui Deserves More Attention, Mention of Ed Peletier, Merle Dixon Being Merle Dixon, Merle Dixon is a Good Brother, Some Humor, Some Serious Business, Somebody Watch Carl For God's Sake!, The author enjoyed Season 2, Warning about Ed Peletier, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24306475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melethril/pseuds/Melethril
Summary: They gather some supply before they decide to go toward Ford Benning.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon & Merle Dixon, Lori Grimes/Rick Grimes
Series: The Walking Dead - AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1753324
Comments: 20
Kudos: 61





	Last Day in the Quarry

**Author's Note:**

> Another Part I had on my hard drive. Not sure if I ever posted did. Could be a re-upload.
> 
> Thanks for commenting on the first part.

The next day was spent packing and gathering food. While Amy and Andrea went out fishing, Dale and Jim readied the cars and Glenn took watch. Rick, who helped Shane and Lori with the heavy lifting, was surprised to see Daryl putting Jacqui’s bags on his truck. She thanked him as she handed over the bags, but the younger Dixon brother just ducked his head without further comment.

“Any softer and you’ll grow a pair o’ tits, baby brother,” shouted Merle. Before Daryl was able to retort a scathing comment Jacqui straightened her back and looked at the injured man with a challenging expression.

“Considering that your brother knows how to treat a lady he won’t need them; plenty of tits will be offered to him along the line.”

Merle laughed, apparently genuinely amused by the remark.

“He’d have to be interested in ‘em first to wanna touch’em, lady, sorry to disappoint,” was the crude reply. “Darlena’s too delicate to get all down ‘n dirty.”

There was a moment of silence before Jacqui walked up to Lori who was packing up Carl’s things. Lori looked up, surprised, a confused smile on her lips as the other lady entered her personal space. Rick saw her whisper ‘don’t worry, just putting Macho Man in his place,’ a mischievious sparkle brightening her eyes. Still confused, Lori’s lips formed an answering smile.

“Oh yes, all delicate and soft,” murmured Jacqui gently craddling Lori’s cheeks, and Rick felt the majority of his blood pumping south. He faintly heard the clatter of some heavy box that Shane had likely dropped. “As if you wouldn’t be the first to pay for some girl on girl action.” Their lips drew closer and closer and Rick felt a lump form in his throat. The spell was broken when the two ladies started giggling before it transformed into outright laughter, which was joined by a snort from Daryl. The man’s lips twitched and Rick faintly wondered how the hell he could be so unaffected by this display.

“Mom!” called Carl excitedly. “Look what I found!” He presented the toad happily and Rick, unable to look away from his wife, observed how she straightened her clothes and hair as she always did when she felt embarassed and a bit turned on. It took a lot of willpower to focus on Carl’s story about how he detected the toad.

He managed though. As such, he was surprised when Jacqui stood next to him all of a sudden.

“Daryl discovered a spring not too far from here. We are getting the water now, so that we can boil it during the day. Can you make sure there’s a fire going until we return?”

“Somebody else should go with you; you’ll need the pair of extra-hands.”

“You go,” said Shane, sounding distracted. “I know my way ‘round camp better than you, so I’ll be quicker with rounding things up.”

A quick glimpse at his wife confirmed his decision to join the water crew. They grabbed any kind of bucket they could find. T-Dog also offered to help. As the small group walked past the older Dixon, who was sitting on the back of his truck, Merle opened his mouth, but this time, Daryl simply pointed his finger at his older brother warningly.

“She one-upped you, man. Whatever you wanna say, don’t. Respect’s earned.”

Merle smiled his cruel smirk with glittering eyes, “Wouldn’t dare, baby brother.” As he said that, he tipped his imaginary hat to Jacqui and completely ignored T-Dog and Rick.

“Did he just salute you?” asked T-Dog incredulously once they were out of earshot.

“Why not?” was Daryl’s only comment on the matter as they walked into the forest. “Gotta come back to this clearing later.”

“Why?” asked Jacqui, looking around.

“Berries, mushrooms,” answered Daryl pointing at the potential provisions as he walked, “Gonna…” He dropped his bucket and had his crossbow up within one second. Rick grabbed his knife. It took him a moment before he heard the rustle of approaching footsteps. Daryl lowered his crossbow right before Carl stepped through.

“Be careful, kid, or you might get shot!” warned the hunter harshly and Rick immediately stepped between his kid and the short-tempered man.

“Don’t talk to my son like that!” he growled. As the former sheriff’s deputy had witnessed before, the hunter stood his ground, but avoided eye contact; he stood sideways, ready to fight, but not pushing for an attack. If Merle reminded him of that aggressive bulldog they had been forced to shoot years ago, Daryl reminded him of every mongrel that received more beatings than affection in the course of their lives.

“’s dangerous,” was the defensive reply bringing up a point to which Rick had to conceed.

“Carl, what’re you doing here?”

“Mom said I should go with you to help with the water.”

Daryl scoffed at that.

“What?” hissed Rick. This redneck had no say in _his_ family.

“’s stupid. Leaving the kid by himself. Even without walkers, ‘s stupid. Kid couldn’t survive out here alone. ‘e should come with us, though. Can learn somethin’ useful for a change.”

Rick had enough. He stepped right into Daryl’s comfort zone, straightening his back. They were of similar height, but the hunter, while ready to fight, had his head slightly turned and he appeared shorter than Rick. He avoided eye-contact. “Don’t tell me how to treat my boy. He’s just a kid and… ”

“It ain’t safe,” interrupted the younger Dixon, squinting at him angrily. “The world ain’t, never was. Bastards like Peletier and worse’ve always been there.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Oh, don’t tell me yer blind, sheriff,” Daryl sneered. “That piece’a shit ain’t no father. Knew ‘t was your boy ‘cause the Morales kids ain’t ever alone,” Again, his lips curled in disdain. “and ‘cause the girl’s as quiet as a mouse. Gotta be or else daddy finds her.”

A chill ran down Rick’s spine, “You think…”

“Don’t know, don’t care. Fucker ain’t gonna do nothin’ with me and Merle in camp. ‘s smarter than that.” A part of Rick wanted to warn Daryl about using this kind of language around his son, but on the other hand… If Peletier was who Daryl just said he was then the choice of insult was appropriate. Jacqui looked horrified, T-Dog taken aback.

“Kid’s said something to you or…?” Again, Daryl scoffed.

“Yeah, she told me over a cup of tea while we’re playin’ with ‘er dolls, idiot.” He took a step back, glared at the adults without really meeting their eyes before he asked roughly, “Ya guys wanna talk ‘bout assholes all day or get supplies? Gonna be a long ride to Fort Benning, gotta prepare more food, ain’t got all day fer that.”

With that, he turned around and walked towards the spring he had mentioned. Carl followed him, looking curious rather than afraid. Rick wanted to stop his son, but Daryl did not seem to mind. On the contrary, he pointed out some older (“walked by this mornin’, ain’t gonna be here no more”) and newer (“look, it’s up there; too high up, though. I’d just waste an arrow”) squirrel tracks as he almost soundlessly stepped through the forest with Rick’s son in tow. The former sheriff’s deputy felt like a bulldozer in comparison as twigs snapped beneath his feet.

Rick then quietly asked Jacqui what she knew given that he had seen her bond with Carol Peletier.

“He beats her,” answered Jacqui. She looked upset. “It’s not a well-kept secret, but I’ve never seen him do anything to Sophia. Carol protects her, I know that, but what Daryl said…”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. We have no evidence for these accusations. We’ll just have to keep an eye out.”

As if they did not have enough problems looking out for walkers.

By the time they reached the spring, Daryl shot three critters: an opposum and two squirrels. Carl looked disgusted when the redneck put them on a string aroun his shoulders.

“Better ‘an starvin’, kid,” was the hunter’s nonchalant reply. He was the first to fill his heavy bucket with water. As if he did it every day, he put it on top of his head and waited for them to do the same. Not half a minute later, he rolled his eyes and helped them getting the buckets ready.

Jacqui bristled when it was her turn.

“I am _not_ going to carry a bucket of water on my head when I walk back to camp!” At Daryl’s look of irritated confusion, she continued, “I don’t need your brother’s demeaning comments.”

Realization dawned; Rick could see it in the hunter’s eyes.

“Better that than him mocking ya for being an idiot. Buckets ain’t got no handles. Carryin’ it otherwise would hurt yer back. M’brother hates stupidity.”

“More than he hates us?” interjected T-Dog aggressively, while trying to balance out the weight on his head.

“Never asked him to grade his views,” muttered Daryl. “Stupidity’s pretty high up on the list, though.”

“What about yours?”

“Stupidity’s a lethal sin these days,” replied the hunter emotionlessly.

“Not what I asked,” countered T-Dog.

“Me?” The other man scoffed. “I hate people. Don’t care who ye’re or where ye’re from. Y’all don’t know what yer doin’ out here, so y’re a liability. But outta the whole bunch’a ya, I prefer dealin’ with you, the chinaman and Morales ‘cause at least y’aint no cop or a fucker like Peletier.”

“What about the ladies, Mr. Dixon?” asked Jacqui, looking amused, as she let Daryl secure the bucket on her head.

“Don’t know, don’t care. Like ye well enough,” was the gruff reply.

“I feel flattered,” she teased and to Rick’s great surprise, Daryl just ducked his head, huffing in amusement.

“Let’s go back,” suggested Rick. The return to camp was long and strenuous, but they managed. They were not trained to carry buckets of water on their head, and it showed. They had to take breaks, occasionally shifted their load to the side. Rick could feel his neck hurting, and his back hurting, and he really just wanted sleep for the rest of the day. His muscles had not entirely regenerated from his coma, and this was hard physical work. By the time they arrived, there was a fire going that apparently Merle had started. Dale and Jim helped them with the water and, under the older Dixon’s mocking glare, they put the buckets on the fire. If Rick had not looked to make his disapproval known, he would have missed the younger Dixon passing his brother and patting his shoulder. A whistle from Merle was instantly answered by a slightly different yet related tune; a clear sign of nonverbal communication that Rick recognized his lifelong friendship with-

“Where’re Shane and Lori?”

“Said they went down to the quarry ‘cause your lady needed to wash some shit,” was the answer, but there was an undertone that Rick could not interpret for the life of him, but his brother obviously could because he quickly caught his brother’s gaze who nodded. The answer was a frown from Daryl and that cruel smirk Rick had come to associate with Merle. The former Sheriff’s deputy decided that he did not want to know.

As announced, Daryl left camp again to go and gather the food he had seen earlier. This time, Jacqui went with him without further discussion.

“Bring me back some _weilii_ if you find it, brother,” shouted Merle on his brother’s way out.

The look that he received in return was a mixture of anger and disappointment.

“Just jokin’, baby brother, we’re too far south anyway,” replied the older man with a wide smile.

“Nah, we ain’t, dumbass, but we’ll be soon,” was the blunt reply.

“Darlena, you know your woods, I know my drugs. Atlanta’s too far south.”

“Nah, it ain’t. It’s on the edges, not my fault you can’t read a map,” replied Daryl. “Ain’t gonna get me to find them to prove a point, just so you know.”

Merle obviously was not used to his brother defying him and seeing right through him because he clenched his jaw. There was something wild and violent in his eyes and the warning bells went off in Rick’s head. Daryl turned and walked away.

So Dixon was a drug addict; it figured. His little brother was not, though. And Merle appeared sober.

“Wanna arrest me, officer?” asked Merle, having noticed Rick checking out the situation. “A drug test’d come out clean. Darlena saw to that.” Again, there was an aggressive gleam in his eyes. He obviously did not approve of his brother running interference with his habit. This was clearly a man who had not quit his drugs too long ago and not entirely out of his free will.

“Make sure it stays that way and we won’t have any trouble,” replied Rick neutrally beforehe said casually, “I’m surprised you’d know the scientific term for magic ‘shrooms native to Georgia.” On the force, he had learned about it: _Psilocybe weilii,_ a psychedelic mushroom found only in Northern Georgia.

“Know my drugs, officer, not so up to date with the science of it… somethin’ ‘bout ‘em releasing dopamin causing euphoria. Stopped with the shit when I read ‘bout it causing heart problems, though. Ain’t gonna go out ‘cause of a high. Darlena wouldn’t forgive me for that.” The last sentence was muttered and in stark contrast to his previous resentment towards Daryl.

The dynamic between the brothers was something that Rick simply could not get a grip on. Also, despite claiming that he knew little, Merle was obviously smarter than he appeared at first glance and that made him very dangerous.

**Author's Note:**

> If there is interest in this AU, let me know in the comments. My focus is Lucifer (TV) and I won't abandon that, but this one-shot style is kind of fun, and I am rewatching Season 1&2 of TWD, so I might take some time to write for this fandom.


End file.
